YoYo
by Mako-chan Wolf
Summary: Just a silly little bit of pointless fic about Richie, Methos and a yoyo.


"Argh!"

Somehow, Richie had managed to get his whole hand tangled in the yo-yo string... Again.

"Havin' a hard time there, Rich?" Joe asked, leaning over the bar to get a good look at the knots and trying to guess if Richie would soon ask him for the scissors. As he watched the perpetual teenager tug at the string, he decided not.

"Why can't I make this work?!" Richie cried as he finally undid the last snag and wound the string again. He went through the basics again, trying to regain his feel for the yo-yo, before flipping it over his shoulder. He managed to whack himself with it on the return, as well as smack it into the bar.

Adam, shaking snow from his coat, had stepped through the door to Joe's just in time to see Richie's seventeenth botched attempt at 'around the world.' True to form, his only comment was, "You _do_ realize the yo-yo is supposed to be sleeping before you start winging it around like a madman, right?"

"Oh, like you could do any better!" Richie challenged.

Joe, watching the exchange, piped up from the other side of the bar (it was safer there, beyond the reach of the yo-yo string). "He probably could. No offense, Rich, but you're not making much progress here... And you're leavin' marks in my bar!" He picked up a clean rag and almost unconsciously buffed a slight nick Richie had made while flinging the yo-yo around.

Richie glared at Joe, but offered the green yo-yo to Adam anyway. Adam was always full of surprises, and, with a little luck, Richie might be able to glean a few technique tips from the older Immortal.

Adam swiped the plastic yo-yo from Richie's outstretched hand and held it up to the dim light to examine it. "Heh. A Duncan butterfly. Good beginner yo-yo. I haven't seen one of these in a while. It's a bit beaten--"

Joe interrupted with "That's because he's been bashing it into my bar for the last half hour!"

Adam nearly smiled at the thought. He could almost see Joe wincing in pain every time the bit of green plastic bounced off the meticulously polished bar...

He shrugged it off and began to fiddle with the yo-yo. He noticed Richie had just been using the pre-tied loop in the top of the string. "This," he said, holding it up by the knot and pointing to it, "is part of your problem." He then tugged about an inch of string through the loop and tightened it around his own finger. "It should be a slip-knot around your middle finger, like this," he commented. He continued, asking "Do you even know how to make a yo-yo sleep?"

Richie shrugged and half shook his head. It was less embarrassing than actually admitting he didn't.

Joe smiled at Richie's non-answer. 'Teenagers,' he thought. 'Some things never change.' He also began making mental notes for the Chronicles... Once a Watcher, always a Watcher...

Adam held the yo-yo in his palm, then almost violently flicked it over the tips of his fingers. The yo-yo reached the bottom of the string and spun there, making a sort of strained whining sound, until he gave the string a tug and the round bit of plastic obediently bounced back up into his hand. He held the yo-yo out to Richie. "Now you try."

Richie grabbed it and tightened the knot around one finger. He mimicked Adam's motions, but the yo-yo snapped back up to his hand instead of sleeping.

"Careful -- it's a bit touchy. Try not to jerk the string after you let it go," Adam offered.

Richie took another stab at it... And the yo-yo began to spin sideways when it hit the end of the string. "Crap."

Adam offered another piece of advice. "Don't let it go at an angle, or it won't return."

"This really isn't as simple as you make it look..." Richie griped, winding the string again.

"Nothing ever is."

"Next you're gonna tell me you're the guy who invented the yo-yo..." Richie mumbled. Joe instantly started paying more attention, waiting for Adam's response and hoping for something big.

"Nah, they've been around for centuries. I didn't get into 'em until about the eighteen eighties."

Joe shrugged off the disappointment and went back to cleaning.

Richie stared blankly, then shook his head and returned to playing with his yo-yo. "Hey, I think I'm gonna take this home and try to get the hang of this 'sleeping' thing... You gonna be here tomorrow?" he asked Adam. He stopped short of asking for more advice, Joe noticed.

"Unless there's another bar around here that'll let me run up a tab like this..." Adam quipped.

"You don't start payin' that tab and you'll have to find someplace else!" Joe threatened.

"Relax, Joe. You know I'll pay up eventually." He glanced toward Richie, who was leaving the bar. "Unless you get sick of it, feel free to bring the yo-yo with you tomorrow."

Richie smiled and nodded his thanks as he left.

Adam looked around to make sure only he and Joe were left in the bar before saying, "I never said I didn't own the first American patent on the yo-yo, though..."

And with that, he finished off the last of his beer, grabbed his coat, and walked out the door, leaving a slightly confused Watcher/bartender behind him.

* * *

A/N: According to Wikipedia, the first U.S. patent on the yo-yo was issued to James Haven and Charles Hettrich in 1886. Whether or not one of these two guys was actually our ROG is for you to decide. And, maybe, if you're feeling especially generous, you can fill Joe in…

Anyway, hope you liked it. Tell me what you thought (make use of that wonderful little review button)!


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